Since the advent of motor vehicle traffic, a variety of situations have arisen that create the need for redirection and control of vehicle or traffic. In addition to the normal day-to-day traffic control provided by a variety of signal lights and signs, situations often occur that create unforeseen traffic hazards and congestion.
Such events which create unforeseen traffic hazards and congestion vary from serious collisions in which multiple vehicles and personal injury are involved to minor traffic impediments created by stalled or inoperative vehicles blocking one or more traffic lanes. Even the most basic of disabled or abandoned vehicle situations can require substantial traffic flow diversion and management to mitigate the hazards that they present.
For many years, emergency responders and associated traffic control operators have utilized a variety of warning and control devices. Such devices have included road flares, reflective signs, or traffic cones. The basic objective is to diverge or root traffic around such traffic flow impediments or accident scenes. For the most part, reflective traffic cones and reflective signs such as the well-known reflective triangle and hazard warning devices have proven to be cumbersome in use and time consuming in operation. Also, their effectiveness at night in poorly lighted areas leaves a great deal to be desired.
In the face of growing numbers of emergency situations and traffic emergencies and traffic flow impediments, practitioners in the art have endeavored to meet the need for more effective easily deployed traffic warning and control apparatus. For example, U.S. Published Patent Application US 2011/0109235 issued to Link sets forth an EXPANDABLE AND CONTROLLABLE LED LIGHTING STRIP in the form of a transparent long strip having a plurality of LEDs supported upon a flexible printed circuit board in a spaced relationship. The circuit board is coated with a transparent waterproof protective layer and includes a male and female connector at the opposed ends thereof. The connectors facilitate the serial connection of two or more of the lighting strips in an end-to-end relationship. A control chip is packaged on a reverse side of the circuit board for controlling the illumination.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,637, issued to Atchison et al, sets forth a COMPACT, FLEXIBLE LED ARRAY that provides a flexible, high density, low profile lighting system that includes a flexible printed circuit board substrate which is adapted to support and electrically interconnect surface mount electronic components. A plurality of surface mount light emitting diodes are mounted on the substrate so as to define a conformable and bendable lighting array configured for mounting upon surfaces with compound curvature. Each of the surface mount light emitting diodes includes a footprint of five square millimeters or less and when mounted adjacent and in contact with one another defines a light density output between 2 and 20 candles per square centimeter.
Published patent application US 2003/0053307 issued to Talamo et al, sets forth a LIGHTING STRIP FOR DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE SYSTEMS that includes an elongated insulating base upon which one or more light emitting diodes strips each supporting a plurality of light emitting diodes are positioned. A terminal housing supporting operative power systems and control apparatus is coupled to one end of the lighting strip while the remaining end may be coupled to an end cap. The light emitting diodes are encapsulated within a light transmission material top cover to provide physical protection and seal for the light emitting diodes.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,168,989 issued to Isobe, sets forth an LED LIGHT SOURCE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME in which the light emitting diodes of the various colors are mounted upon the frame without dicing the frame for dividing the light emitting diodes into pieces. In this manner the red, green and blue primary color light emitting diode light source may emit a selected color or white.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,837, issued to Gustafson, sets forth an INTEGRALLY FORMED LINEAR LIGHT STRIP WITH LIGHT EMITTING DIODES having first and second bus elements spaced apart from one another by a predetermined distance for operative connection to a power source. A substrate strip includes a top surface and a bottom surface having a printed circuit there on. At least one light-emitting diode including electrical contact prongs is provided with the light emitting diode being mounted on the top surface of the substrate strip and with the electrical contact prongs contacting printed circuit on the bottom surface of the substrate strip. An extruded plastic material completely encapsulates the first and second bus element with the substrate strip and the light emitting diodes to provide a protective barrier and make the light strip impervious to moisture.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have to some extent improved the art for traffic control light strips and have, in some instances, enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing and unresolved need in the art for evermore low cost, efficient and effective apparatus for control of traffic flow and hazard management.